Category Archives: Networking

If you are lucky enough to know what you want to next, you don’t have to wait for it to be posted.

You can express your interest in ways other than the traditional application. This requires some research and perseverance but is likely to be worth it in the end.

Think about the role you want. What department is it in? Who leads the group? Who else interacts with the group or has overlapping activities? You can do most of this research on LinkedIn. Just search for people by company. Company is one of the boxes you can fill in on the Advanced Search page.

You can also check out the company web page to see who is listed there.

The next step is to figure out where you have connections. Perhaps some of the names were former colleagues? Maybe you belong to the same professional association? Any connection point will do.

A friend of mine got his last job from an introduction by one the parents he met at the arena during a hockey tournament.

The next bit is Networking 101. Reach out to say hello. See if they would be open to a conversation with you. Here is an opening line you can try: “You are obviously having great success with your organization. Would you be open to taking a few minutes to chatting about the culture?”

This will give you a chance to hear first hand about the organization and confirm that it is, in fact, the kind of place/department/group you want to join.

At some point in the conversation, the person will want to know why you are curious. That’s your cue to talk about yourself and your interest in a possible role. If the conversation has gone well, it is quite likely that they might offer to make an introductions for you. If they don’t offer, then put it out there yourself.

We can talk about how to follow up later but for now, do your research and get ready for the handshakes..

Halloween is over and the rush to the end of the year has begun. Things are going to get busy….really soon. If you have career goals that are still hanging out there, this is the time to sit down and make a plan to move forward.

Whether you are looking for a promotion, transfer or something new altogether, now is the time to take action.

But where to start?

Make time – carve out 20 minutes every day to work on your objective – either block it in your calendar or make it the same time every day.

Make a list – who do you need to meet and how can you connect with them. Email, voice mail, and LinkedIn are all options – decide what is most likely to get a response.

Reach out – start connecting with your targets and following up

Expand your network – send LinkedIn invitations to colleagues, neighbours and the guy you met at that thing last week.

Promote yourself – find articles that are relevant to what you do and post them on LinkedIn. Your connections will see your content and be reminded of your expertise.

Send thank you notes – everyone appreciates being recognized and the good will that is generated will translate into all kinds of neat things.

Take calls from Headhunters – these calls can provide good market intel on your skills and what they are worth – don’t ignore us.

Apply to job postings – notice this is way down the list? The best opportunities come from connections and good connections come from doing the work in the first place. Don’t just rely on the application process. It will rarely show you any love.

I had an interesting situation this week. One of my candidates, who had been on a long and successful interview journey, ended up with several offers in his inbox.

He was really stressed. He said he could not understand how this happened. He was not even looking. He really likes his job and his team.

How did this happen?

First of all, he is an interesting and curious person. When I told him about my client and what they needed to do, he thought it made sense to explore the opportunity. He felt that it would allow him to build up his skills in a new area.

The first two interviews went really well. He and a couple of senior managers had wide ranging conversations and he felt really good about it.

Guess what? After that second interview, he was walking around with just a bit more confidence. He had third party validation that he was doing some really good work in a really good way.

It’s not as noticeable as a haircut or new glasses but that kind of confidence shows.

Seemingly out of the blue, he got a couple of networking requests and coffee invitations. Those led to more casual conversations. Casual, because he had moved beyond the “interview panic prep” and into “this is just a business meeting”.

On top of that, his boss started to let him know about a some longer term projects that he be leading.

To be clear: he was not a disgruntled employee complaining about things at work. No one was trying to placate him or keep him in order to get though the busy cycle.

I suggested that he look at multiple offers as a positive thing not a stressful thing. It’s a successful measure of how he is navigating his path through the industry.

After weighing the teams, the work, the manager and the future possibilities, he chose. I think he is going to be very happy.

So, get off the merry-go-round of your job and take a look around. Because looking when you are not looking may the best time to look.

If you are thinking about making a job change, consider the old adage: fish where the fish are.

What is it that you want to do next and where are the people who are doing it now? Better yet, who is doing it now and has a big problem? The kind of problem that you know exactly how to fix.

Imagine you have decided that you want to move from the inside customer service team to an outside sales role. You have been feeling hemmed in lately. You really want to get out in field and get face to face with customers.

How about this? Look for a company that has a product that’s the same or similar to yours and then drill down to find trouble.

Trouble could be in the form of a growth spike, a quality issue or wider market acceptance. These challenges are pain points for company leaders. Leaders want to relieve pain. Figure out how to market yourself as the prescription.

An email message might say:

I have been listening to customers like yours for years. I know what they need and how to package your product so that it provides a solution that fits. Couldn’t you use someone like me in the field?

Just attach your resume and hit send.

There is certainly no guarantee that one email will start a conversation but it’s a good start.

Over the last few weeks, LinkedIn has rolled out their new “look”. I have read lots of good and bad things about but I am still experimenting with it so this is not about that.

There is a feature that is often ignored but is quite brilliant for keeping in touch when you really don’t have anything to particular to share or ask.

When you go to the Notifications tab and scroll through the boxes, you will see the notes that let you say happy birthday or congratulations on a new job. I used to dismiss this as kitschy and not really of value.

Today, I was the recipient of a zillion birthday wishes and I can tell you it is not kitchy. I smiled with each and every incoming ping.

True, I don’t know everyone who took the time to message me but most of their names did ring a bell. As a sidebar, I also got two lunch dates out of it!

If you really do know the person, take a moment to personalize it, even if just a little. It will make it that much more meaningful.

This may not lead you to your next dream job but it will remind people of how thoughtful you are and that’s becoming a high value trait in many organizations.

One of the first lessons you learn as a recruiter is to ask for referrals. If you are talking with someone and they are not interested or qualified, you should ask if there is anyone they would recommend for the role.

I always thought this made sense. People like to be asked for their opinion and generally, people like to be helpful. I figured it would feel pretty good to help someone discover a new job that they really like.

But then I listened to a podcast where a software engineer said he felt used when he is asked for referrals. His feeling was the the recruiter was not going to earn a fee from him/his experience and yet he was being asked to provide information that would lead to the recruiter earning a fee from someone else. And in the end, he would get nothing.

I was struck by such strong cynicism. It rolled round in my head for a week and I actually stopped asking people for suggestions.

Now that the dust has settled, here are my observations. He worked as a leader in an industry that is desperately short of talent. He did not say this but I bet he gets called by recruiters every other day. I am sure his patience runs thin with our industry. He is also working in an American company and while I don’t have empirical proof, I bet the attitudes here about helping out are different. Who in Canada would not buy someone a Tim Horton’s double double if they needed it?

What do you think? Is it rude and presumptuous to ask someone for referrals if a job is not right for them?